Needle-arm for talking-machines.



W. L. ECKHARDT.

NEEDLE ARM for; TALKING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. Il |916.

Patented Mar. 11,1919

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r i l ESA f WALTER L. ECKHARDT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANA.

NEEDLE-ARM FOR TALKING-MACHINES.

i To all whom t may cof/wem Be it known that I, WALTER hlrcKiiAnn'r, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia,Sta-te of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Needle-Arms for Talking-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

invention has for its object to provide an improved construction of needle arm (stylus or needle support) for sound reproduciiig machines, includingmeans for adjusting the stylusI or needle with respect to said arm or support.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved construction o'f needle arm and stylus or needle by the use of which a single stylus or needle of attenuated wire may be used a great many times for the reproduction of sounds or sound records without injury to said records and also by the use of which the soundsreproduced shall be more nearly like the .original sounds impressed upon the record than, as far as I ain l n ed recesses 5 in the opposite sides or 4the aware, heretofore has been practicable.

A still further object -of my invention is to provide a needle arm or'support by means of which an attenuated or linel wire employed as a stylus or needle may be rigidly and irmly held so as to prevent a vibration of the same independently of said needle armA or support. y

It is also an object of my invention to provide a needle arm having a fine or attenuated point adapted to enter the -sound grooves upon a sound record whereby, if occasion should arise, the needle arm may be employed to coperate directly with a 'sound record without or independently of 'the stylus or needle for thereproduction ofv sounds from said record.

In the accompanying drawings I. have illustrated one form of a convenient embodiment of my invention but it will be understood that the same is susceptible of embodi?l ment in other forms of construction within v the scope of theclaims.4

4itself Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd ivi-,M1 1L 1919, Application aiednarcn 11, 191e. serial No. 83,475.

transverse section with which the end of the stylus or needle is in contact; i

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of said needle arm and stylus or needle sepa-rate' from the sound box and enlarged;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the same;

Fig. 4 is a view showing a portion of said needle arm in longitudinal section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken taken. 1

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the small end of a tapered talking machine horn to which is connected a sound 'box 2. rlhe lcasing of the latter is provided with projecting ears 3 supporting pointed adjustable screws 4 which are adapted to engage pointlower enlarged portion 7 of the needle arm. The enlarged portion 7 is provided `with an extension 10 having connection in knowna manner at its upper end with the diaphragm of the sound box 2. l

The enlargedpart or portion 7 of the needle arm is provided with a longitudinal slot 11 which extends throughout the length of said enlarged part as shown and which eX-.

tends transversely of the said part vor portion toa line substantially coincident with the longitudinal central axis of said part 7.

However, the depth of the said slot may'.

vary, so that the bottom thereofl is not in coincidence with the longitudinal central axis of said part or portion, without depart--; -ing from my invention.

The lower'end of the needle arm is tapered and terminates in a sharper ne pointed portionas indicated at 13 so thatV if itshould Contact with a record 15 by reason ofthe wearing down of the stylus or needle 16 or for-any other reason said record will not be injured thereby. On the contrary such sharp or ne point will follow' the sound groove-in the record reproducing the sounds as though the stylus or'needle were present. Although in the specific construction illustrated it is intended thatr a stylus or needle such as 1G shall at all times be employed in connection with the needle arm for engagement with the grooves of sound records it may happen that it would be desirable to operate a machine when there is. no

stylusvor needle to be had in which case a combined needle arm and stylus such as is illustrated by me and which may be used independently of a needle or stylus would be of. reat advantage.

e intermediate portion of the enlarged 'part 7A of the needle arm is tapered and screw-threaded as indicated at 20 for the bearings 25 at the front side of the enlarged portion 7.

An enlarged slot or notch 26 is provided at the upper end of the enlarged portion 7 in which the said revoluble adjusting wheel is situated. The ,periphery of said wheel is milled or otherwise roughened and occupies a position adjacent to the bottom of the slot 11. rllhe said periphery contacts with the stylus or needle-16 with such pressure as may be4 necessary to create suflicient friction between the peripheral surface thereof and the said stylus or needle to cause the latter to 'move longitudinally when the said wheel is rotated.

The wheel 2l is provided with marks :27 or other indicia which cooperate with a mark 28 upon the sides of the bearings 25 to indicate the extent of rotative movement imparted thereto and consequently the'extent of longitudinal movement imparted to the stylus or needle 16. lt is possible, therefore, to determine with exactness the length of the portion projecting below the lower end of the needle arm. It., therefore, becomes practicable for one who is unskilled to correlate the length of the projecting portion of the stylus or needle to the tone which j it is desired to produce. I

When it is desired to insert a st vlus or .needle 16 into the slot 11 the clamping nut 21 1s loosened so to permit the portions of the' enlarged part 7 upon opposite sides of said slot to spring apart. The stylus or needle having been inserted the clamping fnut is then screwed tight, considerable force being employed, so as tomove thel said port1ons uponoppos1te sides of the slot toward mettete each other and thereby firmly clamp 'the same against the said stylus or needle throughout the entire extent of the said slot whereby there can be no movement of the said stylus or needle within the bounds of the clamping region. independently of the needle arm itself.

By adjusting the attenuated stylus wire or needle 16 so as to vary the length of the portion thereof which projects beyond the lower end 13 of the needle arm the tone and character of the sounds emitted by the machine may be varied as already stated; By lengthening the said projecting' portion the tones may be softened and by shortening the same the tones may be rendered lounder, ringing andlmore vibrant.

T he stylus or needle may be constructed of any suitable hard material, such, for instance, as vanadium steel, and in view of the fact that the. same is in the form of an attenuated wire it may be used over and over again as stated upon the same record o-r different records without injury to the grooves therein.

Then the end of the stylusv or needle 16 has worn ofi' sothat the portion projecting beyond the lower end 18 of the needle arm is shorter than it should be the same may be adjust-ed in the manner above described to provide a projectin portion of the length required or desired. Such adjustments may be effected from time to time as may be necessary until finally the stylus or needle is worn away to such lan extent that itis too short to besatisfactorily employed. While a stylus or needle ytoo short to reach to the adjusting wheel 241 may be employed it is desirable that the same shall be of suliicient length to extend to or ybeyond said wheel in order that it may be adjusted.

It will be seen that by my construction I am enabled to employ successfully an at tenu-ated wire as a stylus or needle by reason of the fact that l also clamp and hold the same throughout the entire length of the portion of the needle arm which directly clamps and supports said stylus or needle that it is not permitted to vibrate wit-hin the clamping region independently of its support. The result of this is that only the I vibrations of the stylus or needle d'ue to the presence of its lower end within lthe groove of a sound record are transmitted to the sound boX in consequence of which only the vibrations caused by the groove itself are reproduced as sounds by the machine. l

vhave provided a construction in whicha needle arm andneedle are combined ina single member, the sharp, pointed end ofv said arm serving as a stylus or needle to enter and follow the grooves of sound records.

I claim 1. A needle arm comprising a part having integral clamping jawsl arranged in substan tial parallel relation to each other, the said jaws being formed by a slot extending part way only through and' longitudinally of said part, the said part having a tapered screwthreaded portion, a clamping nut haying screw-threaded engagement with said screwthreaded portion, adjustment of the said nut in one direction causing adjustment of the said clamping jaws toward each other tol ysaid needle arm and being in engagement with said wire for adjusting the latter, and means for causlng the parts of said needle arm on opposite sidesof said slot to be moved into clamping relation with respect to each other.

3. A needle arm comprising a portion having a slot extending longitudinally thereof throughout its entire length said slot extending only part' way through the said portion, a stylus or needle wire situated in the bottom ofY `said slot, and means for moving the parts of said arml upon opposite sides of said slot toward each other to clamp the said stylus or needle wire.

L A needle arm forV sound reproducing machines comprising au enlarged lower end portion having a slot extending throughout the entire length of said enlarged portion said slot extending only part way transversely through the said enlarged lower end portion, the lower end of said enlarged portion being provided with a sharp point in alinement with the.bot,tom ol said slot, a stylus or needle wire situated in the said slot, and means for securing the said Wire therein.

YIn testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have -hereunto signed my name this 9th (hy of March, A. D. 1916.

WALTER L. ECKHARDT. i 

